Tampere Opera: Her Voice
A new and powerful chamber opera celebrates women and Tampere Opera.
Information
Fri 23 October 2026
Tampere Opera: Her Voice
Koskipuisto Park, Tampere
Free admission
Duration: approximately 22 minutes.
Her Voice is a new and powerful chamber opera celebrating 120 years of women’s right to vote in Finland and the 80th anniversary of Tampere Opera. The work will premiere on the opening of the Tampere Festival of Light on Friday, 23 October 2026, in the open urban space of Koskipuisto Park in Tampere.
Her Voice brings to the forefront Hilja Pärssinen (1876–1935), a real but lesser-known political figure compared to Miina Sillanpää (1866–1952). Pärssinen was one of the 19 women elected to the Finnish Parliament following the historic 1907 election.
The music is composed by Minna Leinonen. The libretto and stage direction are by Marika Vapaavuori. The role of Hilja Pärssinen will be performed by Tuuli Takala, one of Finland’s most internationally acclaimed sopranos. The role of the young factory girl named Toini is sung by Villa Murtagh.
The opera portrays a time when women fought not only for the right to vote but also for very concrete social reforms, such as the regulation of child labor. The libretto moves at the intersection of the political and the personal, highlighting Tampere’s iconic industrial history and its “cotton mill girls.”
“Her Voice is a spectacular outdoor production open to everyone. This insightful chamber opera uniquely combines Tampere’s working-class history, social discourse, and the art of opera in a way that invites large audiences to become part of the experience. With this anniversary commission, we are proud to honor the history of women’s suffrage in Finland and the legacy of Tampere Opera,” says Suvi Leinonen, Artistic Director of Tampere Opera.
“Composing an opera, even a chamber opera, is a special milestone for a composer. In my work, interaction lies at the heart of artistic creation, and the way Her Voice integrates the world of opera into urban art exceeds all my expectations. In the music, the Tammerkoski rapids and the cotton mill roar, while at the center the soprano soloist carries the multilayered story forward, supported by a rhythmically striking choir. Throughout the work, motifs of the old Spinning Waltz shimmer and intertwine, culminating in a song familiar to many at the end,” says composer Minna Leinonen.
“It is wonderful to create an opera that is accessible to everyone in an authentic setting. As I began writing the story of the second character, young Toini, and her world, the history of my own loved ones also began to find its way into the libretto,” says the opera’s librettist and director, Marika Vapaavuori.
For the outdoor performance, the orchestral parts will be recorded by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Ruut Kiiski. Tampere Opera Choir will perform live in Koskipuisto Park. The choir is trained by chorus master Heikki Liimola.
The piece also features 50 dancers from Balettikoulu Hannele Suomalainen. The dancers portray young factory workers. The choreography is by Riikka Korpi.
Credits
Minna Leinonen, composer
Marika Vapaavuori, libretto and stage direction
Riikka Korpi, choreography
Ruut Kiiski, conductor
Liisa Vallius, costume design
Heikki Liimola, chorus master
Jouni Rissanen, artistic producer
Tuuli Wirkkula, rehearsal pianist
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Tampere Opera Choir
Cast
Tuuli Takala, Hilja Pärssinen, Member of the Parliament of Finland
Villa Murtagh, Toini, young cotton mill girl
Lari Halme, foreman
Marko Tuupainen, factory man
Tampere Opera Choir, factory workers
Dance group, young factory workers
In collaboration with: Balettikoulu Hannele Suomalainen
Technical production and projections: Profilight Oy
Subject to change.
Production: Tampere Opera, in cooperation with the City of Tampere
The chamber opera is supported by the Pirkanmaa Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.
Libretto
Text by Marika Vapaavuori
English translation by Suvi Leinonen
Prologue. Tampere, 1906.
In the mills along the banks of the Tammerkoski, the machines run and the shifts change.
CHORUS:
Power from the rapids, yarn from the cotton, cloth from the yarn, the water thunders, the engines turn!
Workers in, workers out, day after day, the water thunders, the engines turn!
CHORUS:
In this year of grace.
SCENE 1.
Hilja Pärssinen urges the working people to stand up for their rights and speaks for reform at the Workers’ Music Festival
HILJA (sings):
In this year of grace 1906, our time has come! We demand that every Finn of age shall have the right to vote and the right to stand for election!
Cry “Down!” if you are with me!
CHORUS:
Down!
HILJA:
Down with those who do not stand for equality!
CHORUS:
Down!
HILJA:
Down with those who do not stand for the rights of every child!
CHORUS:
Down!
HILJA:
Down with those who deny the equal vote!
CHORUS:
Down!
HILJA AND CHORUS:
Down!
CHORUS:
Clock and card and factory gate, factory whistle, coal and red brick.
CHORUS:
In this year of grace.
HILJA:
If we will it now and act upon it, tomorrow shall be better than today!
CHORUS:
Ah…
ONE FROM THE CHORUS:
I wonder if Candidate Pärssinen knows what it’s like for us at the mill? Nine-year-olds leave school and go to work, because poverty leaves them no choice. And what kind of work?
CHORUS:
Day after day, workers in, workers out. Power from the rapids, cotton, skeins, bobbins, yarn, cloth from the yarn. The water thunders, the engines turn! Power from the rapids, yarn from the cotton, cloth from the yarn, the water thunders, the engines turn!
HILJA:
…In this year of grace…
Cotton-mill girl Toini Jokinen, like many others, is moved by what she hears
TOINI:
Is she talking to me? It feels like it. It feels as if she can see us in the crowd. Me and Martta.
I’m not the only one who brings a doll to the mill, not by a long way. Martta sits on top of the spinning frame all through my shift. She hears what I’m thinking, though now and then I talk to her out loud as well. Overseer Friberg is kind, letting you sit there. Not all of them would.
CHORUS:
Spin, spin. Dust and pitch, mill halls, tenement rooms…
A shift at the mill
TOINI:
There goes the whistle!
The smallest of us, the ones who fit best, dart in under the machines to change the bobbins and untangle the snarled threads.
CHORUS:
Spinning room, weaving shed, dye house, packing room, whistle, coal and red brick.
Clock and card and factory gate, day after day, the water thunders, the engines turn!
Aria, poem by Hilja Pärssinen
HILJA:
Life so vast and full of wonder
Opens wide before your eyes;
Thousand strange and curious questions
Wait for answers to arise.
Do not, young girl, pass them over,
Leave them unexplored to lie;
Tread the seeker’s path before you —
Ask, and search, and question why.
Know that doubt’s an open doorway,
Cradle of all progress won.
Old must wither, new must flourish —
Will alone sees deeds begun.
TOINI:
Old must wither, new must flourish, will alone sees deeds…
TOINI AND HILJA:
…begun.
HILJA:
I wrote this poem long ago as a charge to myself, but today it felt right to recite it to you, people of Tampere! Remember: a better tomorrow is a matter of will. Every advance has been born of will and carried through by the strength of the many!
CHORUS:
Oh… ah… deeds begun
Hilja Pärssinen questions little Toini
HILJA:
And who might this be?
TOINI:
This is Martta. (introduces her doll)
HILJA:
And who are you?
TOINI:
I’m Toini Jokinen. I came here to the mill to work, like so many others. To earn.
HILJA:
And what is it like?
TOINI:
What? The work? (spoken)
Work is work. Dusty. It clings to me, it clings to Martta.
CHORUS:
Little fingers, greasy hands…
TOINI (spoken):
Pay packet. Four marks.
CHORUS:
Skeins and threads, bobbins, bolts…
TOINI (spoken):
It’s good to work here. Far better than hunger or begging.
CHORUS:
Oil and cotton waste, aprons, kerchiefs…
HILJA:
Just so. The pay packet. We all share the same hope: to earn our bread by our own labour, a place in the world, a small piece of independence.
The machines run and the people work to their rhythm. Cloth is made and the town grows.
CHORUS:
Girls and plaits, beams and bales. Dust everywhere, the water thunders.
TOINI:
The dust clings to me, the dust clings to Martta.
ONE FROM THE CHORUS:
It has clung to all of us.
The mill is in us, and in us it stays!
The flywheel is eight metres across.
CHORUS:
Eight metres!
HILJA (spoken):
The rapids, roaring without rest, the artery that joins Lake Näsijärvi to Lake Pyhäjärvi. A heart of steam.
The Tammerkoski, artery of the beast!
CHORUS:
Eight metres!
The flywheel is the heart of the beast. We are the body of the beast!
Oh…
SCENE 2. The New Election Act and the Results of the Vote
The Election Act
NEWS VOICE:
In this year of grace 1906 – now that the Tsar, as Grand Duke, has approved Finland’s new Parliament Act, universal and equal suffrage comes into force in our land – which is to say that all who are of age, mill folk, the humble poor, and even women, may stand for election and vote…
The Women Elected
HILJA:
Have you heard? Have you read the paper? It is a sensation the world over!
CHORUS:
Have you heard? Have you read the paper?
HILJA & CHORUS:
It is a sensation the world over! Finland’s first Parliament has been chosen by the people’s vote.
NEWS VOICE:
All who are of age, mill folk, the humble poor, and even women, were allowed to vote!
CHORUS:
Have you heard? Have you read the paper…
HILJA:
The people of Finland have chosen nineteen women to represent them!
NEWS VOICE:
Bakery owner IIDA AALLE. Elected!
Farm mistress EVELIINA ALA-KULJU. Elected.
Seamstress ANNI HUOTARI. Elected.
Author ALEXANDRA GRIPENBERG. Elected.
Servant MIINA SILLANPÄÄ. Elected. Schoolteacher IIDA VEMMELPUU. Elected.
CHORUS:
Elected, elected…
NEWS VOICE:
Servant MIMMI KANERVO. Elected. Schoolteacher HILMA RÄSÄNEN. Elected.
Headmistress LUCINA HAGMAN. Elected. History teacher HILDA KÄKIKOSKI. Elected.
CHORUS:
Elected, elected…
Have you heard, have you read the paper?
Schoolteacher LIISI KIVIOJA. Elected
Seamstress MARIA RAUNIO. Elected
Weaver JENNY NUOTIO. Elected
Author ALLI NISSINEN. Elected
Teacher DAGMAR NEOVIUS. Elected
Journalist HEDVIG GEBHARD. Elected
Seamstress MARIA LAINE. Elected
Servant SANDRA REINHOLDSON
Elected, elected…
NEWS VOICE:
Poet and schoolteacher HILJA PÄRSSINEN. Elected
CHORUS:
The first women in all the world.
HILJA AND TOINI:
The first women in all the world.
CHORUS:
Ah… oh… oo…
HILJA PÄRSSINEN:
I too have been elected! We women are a force now! Let us see to it that we use our common strength for the good of humanity!
CHORUS:
Little fingers, greasy hands. Day after day…
SCENE 3. Toini’s Song
TOINI:
I spin, I weave, Martta sits on the machine and watches me spin. One bobbin at a time, one winter at a time. I spin, one bobbin at a time, one shift at a time, I spin.
CHORUS:
One shift at a time, one winter at a time, and still you spin.
TOINI:
I spin, I weave, I weave shoes for my brothers and sisters. I spin the money for skis, so my little sister can ski to school. I spin one winter at a time, I weave myself fast to life.
HILJA:
Spin, just spin.
CHORUS:
Spin, just spin.
TOINI (speaking):
I weave myself fast to life.
CHORUS:
Hemmer, oiler, stretcher, piecer, dyer, bleacher, reeler, presser.
SCENE 4. Spinning Waltz, in which we hope the audience will join
TOINI AND HILJA:
Spin and spin, my little maid, soon a groom will come, they said. So she spun and spun away, but no groom came by that way.
CHORUS:
Little fingers, greasy hands. Dust and steam and lint and sweat.
CHORUS:
Spin and spin, my little maid, soon a groom will come, they said. So she spun and spun away, but no groom came by that way.
CHORUS, TOINI AND HILJA:
Spin and spin, my little maid, soon a groom will come, they said. So she spun and spun away, but no groom came by that way.
CHORUS:
Power from the rapids, yarn from the cotton, cloth from the yarn, the water thunders, the water thunders, the engine turns!
SCENE 5. Epilogue. Tomorrow Better Than Today
HILJA:
The rapids trace their endless whirls. In the mill, cloth is woven. It grows inch by inch, metre by metre, bolt by bolt, load by load. The steam engine keeps up its steady breath; the people of Tampere weave themselves fast to life. Tomorrow will be better than today.
Old must wither, new must flourish. Tomorrow the sun will rise again.
TOINI AND HILJA:
Old must wither, new must flourish. Tomorrow the sun will rise again.
Tomorrow will be better than today.
CHORUS:
Oh… ah…
Power from the rapids, yarn from the cotton, cloth from the yarn, the water thunders, the engines turn!
Soloists
Born and educated in Helsinki, Tuuli Takala (b. 1987) is one of Finland’s most outstanding sopranos on the international stage today. Her breakthrough came in 2013, when she won both the Kangasniemi Singing Competition and the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition and made her debut at the Finnish National Opera as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She has since performed this Mozart coloratura role at venues including London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Berlin State Opera, the Vienna Volksoper and the Savonlinna Opera Festival. In 2015, she was invited to join the Young Ensemble at the Semperoper Dresden, where she has held an engagement ever since.
Takala is known for her beautiful, agile voice and moving interpretations. Her principal operatic roles include Violetta (La traviata), Gilda (Rigoletto), Pamina and the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Micaëla (Carmen), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Mimì (La bohème) and Liù (Turandot). Her career has taken her to leading European stages, including the Hamburg State Opera, Zurich Opera House and the Salzburg Festival. Alongside opera, Takala is an active performer of art song and oratorio and a sought-after concert soloist.
Takala began her musical training at the age of five, studying the violin. From the age of six, she also sang in numerous choirs, including the renowned Tapiola Choir. She studied music education and opera singing at the Sibelius Academy.
Read more: tuulitakala.com
Despite her young age, Villa has already gained extensive experience in acting and performing. Her acting career began on the Main Stage of Tampere Workers’ Theatre, where she played the title role in the musical Matilda at the age of eight. Villa tackled the demanding role with professionalism and loved every moment on stage.
Villa later returned to the Main Stage of Tampere Workers’ Theatre as Summer in the musical School of Rock. Her role as Matilda opened doors to new projects, and she has also become known as the Finnish voice of the title character in Bluey. Villa loves singing and performing and is thrilled to take on the role of Toini in the opera Her Voice.
You might also enjoy
- Tampere Hall
Opera Gala
Conductor Mikko Franck leads soprano Karita Mattila, baritone Tommi Hakala, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Tampere Opera Choir.
- Tampere Hall
Puccini: Turandot
Puccini’s final masterpiece to be performed for the first time at Tampere Opera!
- Tampere Hall
Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty
Estonian National Opera and Ballet brings The Sleeping Beauty to Tampere Hall, with music performed by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.